Confessions

"I… I… I'm sorry, Sebastian. For everything. I'm sorry for everything I've done. If you give me the chance, I'll make amends. I promise, Sebastian. Please, just give me one last chance. Please…" Roxanne couldn't find the words to respond to his question, apart from saying she was sorry. 

Roxanne committed many atrocities towards this man whom she believed to have been the murderer of her younger brother. As a result, coming back to her senses and making amends wasn't going to be easy. She knew that for a fact, but didn't know that a single question could render her so speechless. What was she apologising for?

"Please, Sebastian. I'll do anything to earn your forgiveness. Just name it, and I'll do it." Roxanne proposed, and Sebastian's body went stiffer. Her tears and apologies were convincing enough to those who didn't know her, but not to someone like him. 

"Let go." As soon as the words fell, Roxanne's soul felt like it just flew out of her body. He was supposed to respond to what she said, but rather chose to move away from her. 

'He sounds like I disgust him or something.' Roxanne panicked inwardly.

Something was wrong somewhere, and Roxanne knew it. Before now, as long as it was something she wanted, Sebastian was willing to do it. However, he seemed like a whole different person at the moment. 

Sebastian dropped Roxanne's hand from his waist and moved away from her, not sparing her a single glance. 

"I asked what you're apologising for, and your response is 'everything.' Am I right?" 

Roxanne nodded her head like a rattle drum. 

"You are apologising for everything, huh?" She looked speechlessly at him, but he didn't care. 

Sebastian was drained physically and emotionally. Her day to day actions have caused him to see things differently, and the last straw was staring him in the face. 

"Tsk!" Sebastian stood up and turned his back toward Roxanne. He looked outside the window for a while before turning around to face her. 

To say she was scared, was an understatement. Roxanne was petrified at how her unpredictable husband would handle the situation. 

Reaching for the top drawer, Sebastian pulled out a black file. 

'What! He has another divorce document here? How many copies does he even have? Is he going to force me to sign this right here?'

With this realisation hitting her, Roxanne's tears fell more violently, her hands clasped in front of her, in a pleading stance. She looked like an unruly schoolgirl who was summoned to the principal's office. 

Little did she know that divorce wasn't the major issue at the moment.

"I'll sit down if I were you." He mentioned casually, not bothering whether she took him up on his offer or not. 

"Manny Hansley…" Sebastian paused after mentioning the name. "Is he part of the 'everything' you're sorry for?" The atmosphere became tense, and the air felt heavy. 

None of them said anything after Sebastian's comment, but Roxanne felt her head spinning. She took a few steps back to steady herself. The shock was just too much for her heart to handle. Meanwhile, she finally understood why her loving husband suddenly began to treat her like a monster.

"S… Sebastian… I can explain… I mean it. It's not what you think. I swear!" Roxanne pledged through her tears, lifting her right hand to affirm her words. 

"Assuming I want to listen to your words, Roxanne, where do we start from? Where do I start forgiving you? Tell me…" 

'Shit! He knows. He knows about Manny. This is going to be a tough one.' As Roxanne's mind raced with thoughts, her husband asked again, 

"How many times have we been intimate since we got married, Roxanne?" She could feel the coldness in the room. No one needed to tell her that her calm and collected husband wasn't going to turn a blind eye this time. 

"Answer me, damn it!" Sebastian banged his office table with his fist, feeling frustrated at Roxanne's silence. 

"Have I ever touched you, Roxanne?" It was the same voice, but she was petrified. Scared of the answer she'll give." 

"N…No." She spoke in a small voice above a whisper.

"Have we shared a hotel room before?"

"N… No." 

"Have I ever seen you naked before?"

"No."

"Despite my numerous offers, have you ever been on a date with me before?" 

"No."

Roxanne's words were becoming more and more like a whisper as she answered the various questions.

"I have been your husband for two years, and in all those years, I had to steal kisses when you were sleeping. I couldn't even hold your hand. I had no claim to your body, yet…" 

Sebastian took in a deep breath, but when he opened his eyes again, they were bloodshot. Roxanne didn't find the calmness she longed to see. 

"I was willing to forgive you for everything, Roxanne Winslow. However, I am no saint. I will not be cuckolded by a fellow man. My wife will not frequent hotels with another man and return the next day to tell me she's sorry. My wife will not offer her body on a silver platter to her boyfriend, only to come crying to me the next day. Just. Because. He. Scammed. Her. Of. Her.Shares."

Sebastian breathed deeply, and Roxanne knew he was trying very hard to control himself. "How many times did I beg you to allow me touch you, when I could have forced you, Roxanne? Even when I was drugged and taken home to you, you left and said I had nothing to do with you. Do you know how I survived that night? You didn't ask, because you don't care. I have loved you since the first day I set my eyes on you, Roxanne, and that was when I promised myself, not only to make you mine, but also, to spoil you in every way." There was pin drop silence in the room, and no one spoke for a while.

"I will not be your rebound, Roxanne. I am tired of this." 

Roxanne knelt on the floor and continued to cry, as her crimes were read out one after the other. Her heart felt like it was being stabbed by a thousand knives, and nothing she said could make sense at the moment. 

"The… The situation with Manny isn't something I can explain. Please, Sebastian. Allow me to show you…" Seeing her on her knees, Sebastian felt pain like never before. However, just like he said earlier, he was tired of everything she had taken him through. He couldn't hold on to whatever they had going on anymore. It was weighing too heavily on his shoulders. 

"I can forgive all your excesses, Roxanne. But I can never forgive your infidelity." Sebastian said this with so much pain that it was palpable. 

Soon, his phone rang, taking his attention away from the kneeling woman before him. 

"What! Why is he coming all of a sudden?" Sebastian screamed into the receiver, his gaze turning murderous. "Okay. I understand." 

With that, the call ended, and Sebastian felt like he could burn Roxanne with his eyes. 

"What did you tell my grandfather?" The question was devoid of emotion, and Roxanne knew she had to clarify this misunderstanding at least. 

"Grandpa said he will pass through Saint City after dealing with his business. I really don't know anything. Last time we spoke was two weeks ago." 

Roxanne's hysterical attempt at explaining her dealings with Sebastian's grandfather, only confirmed to the young man that she truly slept with the Manny dude. If not, she would have explained that one too. 

"You may leave, Roxanne. I have work to do." Sebastian spoke up, not inviting her to meet his grandfather as usual. 

Before now, he would have begged her to accompany him, as the old man adored her like his granddaughter. 

However, he changed his mind in the morning. As soon as the report was presented to him, he decided to let her go. He didn't wish to fight anymore. 

"Please, allow me to meet grandfather. I promise to be of good behaviour. 

Thinking about how his grandfather would throw a fuss at Roxanne's absence, Sebastian proposed tiredly. 

"We will get a divorce soon, Roxanne. But for now, let Lawyer Jim help you sort out your mess. Grandfather arrives in three days."